A Very Large Expanse of Sea Review

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments—even the physical violence—she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.

But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds—and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

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Some Testimonial About This Book:

Y’all mind if I cry because if you’d told 16 year-old me that one day I’ll read a NYT best-selling book where a Muslim Hijabi teen gets her own coming of age story and her own big romance instea...

Jesse (JesseTheReader)

I got my hands of an ARC of this back at BEA and I regret not reading it till now. This book was INCREDIBLE. It's definitely one of my favorite books to come out this year. It was eye opening and hear...

Christine Riccio

This was fantastic. ...

Sabaa Tahir

One of the best contemporary books I've ever read, and hands-down the best YA on what it means to be a Muslim American post 9/11. Tahereh Mafi pulls no punches, spares no feelings and tells the absolu...

Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)

4.5*...

Emma Giordano

4.5 Stars! Review to come.CW: islamophobia & xenophobia...

Whitney Atkinson

October 2018 Updating with my full thoughts now that the book is out! I wrote all of this down when I first read it in May.I was nervous starting this book because the first 25% of this lays a lot of ...

Hamad

This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book PrescriptionActual Rating: 3.5 stars“I was stuck in another small town, trapped in another universe populated by the kind of people ...

(Bern) Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi broke me while simultaneously filling my mind, soul and heart with vast emotions all at the same time.This book deserves all the stars for the raw emoti...

Lola

Tahereh Mafi better write more YA contemporary romance novels in the future because this one was absolutely moving and memorable. It’s been a long time since I fell so hard for a YA love interest bu...